• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Norfolk birding (45 Viewers)

ZanderII said:
Only the fact that people consistently report any green parakeet as Ring-necked despite the fact that Norfolk & Suffolk has no breeding population of Ring-necked Parakeets, despite the fact that they are non-migratory and despite the fact that there are lots of other species of green parakeet kept in captivity and that frequently escape.

You wouldn't identify a fly-over unstreaked Acro from the car would you?
Click to expand...

Agree with most of what you say,although you comparison of a rn parakeet with an Acro is not so sharp; I know which one I would take a punt on!
Had you have made your points in a different manner,eg "thanks for reporting the sighting,but had you considered....", I probably would not have posted. Way too many posts with an accusational tone on here of late,we should be praising interest in the hobby.
Cheers,
Jim.
 
jimbob said:
Agree with most of what you say,although you comparison of a rn parakeet with an Acro is not so sharp; I know which one I would take a punt on!
Had you have made your points in a different manner,eg "thanks for reporting the sighting,but had you considered....", I probably would not have posted. Way too many posts with an accusational tone on here of late,we should be praising interest in the hobby.
Cheers,
Jim.
Click to expand...

Ok, apols for the 'accusationary tone' its just something that always gets me annoyed - we should be rigourous with identifying everything. Othewise we confuse the status of species - which for invasives is not a good thing...

I assume that most, if not all parakeet sightings from Norfolk will refer to birds which escaped in-county. Many of these won't be Ring-neckeds.... (Alexandrine, Blue-crowned etc) and I doubt it would be easy to confirm which species you are seeing from a flight view at 60-70mph....

these things are good at escaping:

http://www.parrot-link.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11391
 
I`ve had a couple of fly-by green Parakeets on my patch over the years, but have never felt happy to call them anything other than that for the same reasons that zander states.
 
ZanderII said:
from the car? and you ruled out any other escaped parakeets how?
Click to expand...

Being totally honest I didn't take the time to rule out all possible escapees - I saw a bird that looked like a rn parakeet so that's how I called it (I probably should have been more vague). I was in no way claiming that it wasn't an escapee - I have seen a few rn parakeets in Norfolk over the years and have assumed that all are escapees (having no reason to think otherwise).
 
“And saved some part Of a day I had rued.”

[Last two lines from ‘Dust of Snow’ by Robert Frost.]

Having seen nothing new all day, Ian and I met and decided to grill Burnham Overy Dunes. Getting all that sand and vegetation under the gas in my cooker would have proved impossible, so we walked out instead.

As we made our way to Gun Hill, news kept on coming through of finds on The Point and then The Hills. There might have been stuff in those locations, but we were having none of it. We went all the way back to the boardwalk and then almost to Holkham Pines, before Ian kicked up a Garden Warbler and then a Pied Fly. In the way of things, I didn’t see these, either.

It was quite frustrating, apart from being more tiring than I’d have preferred (after my illness).

So, finally going back home east and towards home, I called in at Gramboro’ and was immediately put on to one of the Wrynecks, feeding on and in an anthill. Such special birds they are, too. Thanks Dave and Eddie- for the loan of the ‘scope.

Following on from the previous discussion, please see the illustration below of a Ring-topped Paraquat.
 

Attachments

  • Paraquat.jpg
    Paraquat.jpg
    82.1 KB · Views: 166
ZanderII said:
Only the fact that people consistently report any green parakeet as Ring-necked despite the fact that Norfolk & Suffolk has no breeding population of Ring-necked Parakeets, despite the fact that they are non-migratory and despite the fact that there are lots of other species of green parakeet kept in captivity and that frequently escape.

You wouldn't identify a fly-over unstreaked Acro from the car would you?
Click to expand...

What is it to do with you zander , how do u know it wasn't a wild 1 , birds do tend to fly & that means they can go where they like , or do they have to get your permision to fly to Norfolk , wind your neck in & keep your nose out , I believe the person
 
O.Reville1989 said:
the EZ feature . . . more zoom
Click to expand...

That’s right. I use this feature most of the time but, as I said, would probably not to its full extent in this model.

From the ‘Specification’ on the Panasonic UK webpage:
Extra Optical Zoom (EZ) 29.4x (4:3 / 8M), 37.5x (4:3 / 5M), 46.9x (4:3 / under 3M)
As has been explained to me, this is a form of internal cropping, pre-photo.

Rob: quat are you talking about ? That's not being overly sensitive to someone recovering from a potentially fatal condition, is it ?
 
Having lived in London for a fair few years, and in the western stronghold of the RNP, personally I wouldn't have a problem with an id on a drivepast/flyover situation. With the large population in the South East (which is spreading) I would have thought that an RNP would be more likely than an escape.

Anyway, they can stay in London. 'Orrible noisy birds.
 
ZanderII said:
Only the fact that people consistently report any green parakeet as Ring-necked despite the fact that Norfolk & Suffolk has no breeding population of Ring-necked Parakeets, despite the fact that they are non-migratory and despite the fact that there are lots of other species of green parakeet kept in captivity and that frequently escape.

You wouldn't identify a fly-over unstreaked Acro from the car would you?
Click to expand...

We were at Wells Woods on 20/09/92 when we decided to have a quick look at the sea. A Ring-necked Parakeet flew in from over the wash. :eek!:

Maybe the first truly wild specimen. ;) Unfortunately my notes are not detailed enough to rule out other species so the record remains "not proven".
 
Almost unbelievably, I have just discovered that xeno-canto holds no recordings of Ring-necked Parakeet, turning up the following comment and suggestion:

“Your search returned no results . . .

Maybe your species was recorded outside world?”

Have they been taken up on the Shuttle, then, or are they suggesting that it could be an extra-terrestrial species ?

However, after a moment’s thought (yes, really!), I searched using the scientific name Psittacula krameri: producing over two dozen recordings, under ‘Rose-ringed Parakeet’. It would be helpful if this fantastic resource were to have greater functionality in this regard, enabling searches with prompts for established/alternate names.

Dave: it’s a shame your bird didn’t arrive from the Warham direction, in strong easterly winds; then, it would have had increased potential for true vagrancy (?).
 
According to Wikipedia - unverified - Alexandrine Parakeets live in the south of England, mixed in with the more abundant Ring-necks. The two species are very similar; I for one wouldn't want to claim either/or on naked eye views from a moving car, it would have to be a Parakeet sp. Statistically, surely the chances are postcardv's bird was a Ring-necked, but what of its origins?

Good luck to anyone fortunate enough to be birding this morning; after all of yesterday afternoons little auytumn tasters I'm sure there'll be something good popping out of the woodwork when the sun comes out. I did east of Happisburgh in two hours up until dusk but the best I could pull out of the bag was a Reed Warbler. Still, always nice to see one in a bush on the cliffs...

James
 
Last edited:
James: you could differentiate them by call, were you to be able to negotiate the xeno-canto pitfalls !

I agree about today: there could easily be somethin' good, waiting to pop out of the woodwork/shrubbery.
 
Nice male red backed shrike at Cley, couple of kind guys told me about. Little stint, yelwags and some curlew sands, 2 whimbrel and a Juv arctic tern at sea
 
petehasset said:
What is it to do with you zander , how do u know it wasn't a wild 1 , birds do tend to fly & that means they can go where they like , or do they have to get your permision to fly to Norfolk , wind your neck in & keep your nose out , I believe the person
Click to expand...

Good for you Pete, try re-reading the thread again.

I don't 'know' it wasn't wild but I do know that the average dispersal natal dispersal distance for RNPs is just 1km. That is why RNPs are incredibly common is some parts of London but have not colonised the rest of the country. There is no evidence for long-range dispersive movements in a species which is essentially a sedentary tropical bird.

Moreover, there are other species which are also common in captivity that look just like RNP from which field separation would not be possible in a brief flyover view.

Spatial spread of the ring-necked parakeet
We found a strong decrease in parakeet abundance with linear distance from the historical release site. This indicates that as the parakeet population expands, new areas are being colonized initially at low densities while densities increase in areas that are occupied for a longer time. This pattern would conform to a steadily rolling continuous wave (Skellam 1951, Shigesada and Kawasaki 1997) and suggests that suitable areas further from the release site have not yet attained their carrying capacity. Pithon and Dytham (2002) have argued that the dispersal (and consequently the distribution) of the UK parakeet population may be inhibited by the species’ communal roosting behaviour. Communal roosting is believed to confer a number of possible benefits, including predator avoidance, foraging information (Weatherhead 1983), effective dispersal of daytime flocks (Chapman et al. 1989) and the opportunity to find mates (Blanco and Tella 1999). To test the possible influence of the roost site, we repeated our analyses using the linear distance to the Evere roost site (50°52′31″N, 4°25′8″E) instead of the historical release site. Evere was the only known roost site from 1991 to 2003, during the period of major population expansion, and continues to be used as one of two major roost sites. This resulted in a highly similar model with the same significant factors and very similar BIC values (477.3 vs 480.3) which is undoubtedly due to the relatively close distance between Evere and the release site (6.3 km). Thus, the structure and history of the Brussels population does not allow us to discriminate between the historical pattern and the role of roost sites.

Invasive ring-necked parakeets Psittacula krameri in Belgium: habitat selection and impact on native birds


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Alexandrine_parakeet_3.jpg
 
Common Sandpiper at Surlingham Church Marsh this morning, a much needed year tick. A bush full of Chiffchaff, flicking in and out, also held a Lesser Whitethroat. Finally. things starting to move again!
Decided to visit Happisburgh this afternoon, following up a late report on RBA of a Greenish Warbler in pines behind the cricket pavilion. No sign of the bird, and not much else about other than a flyover Yellow Wagtail.
Some great birds around in Norfolk the last couple of days!
Cheers,
Jim.
 
Greenish

This afternoon definitely compensated for yesterday, the hills were lovely and we scored a nice array of common migrants but left just before the wryneck turned up !

On the way out to half way house the stonking male Red-backed Shrike showed, although a tad distantly. Meeting up with the infamous 'zen' birder Josh he showed me to the warbler spot. Over the next half an hour we were treated to some very nice views, even through his telescope while the bird sat preening for the best part of a minute, thanks Josh. For a phyllosc in sueda it showed remarkably well.
Happy days
 
stuart white said:
Greenish

This afternoon definitely compensated for yesterday, the hills were lovely and we scored a nice array of common migrants but left just before the wryneck turned up !

On the way out to half way house the stonking male Red-backed Shrike showed, although a tad distantly. Meeting up with the infamous 'zen' birder Josh he showed me to the warbler spot. Over the next half an hour we were treated to some very nice views, even through his telescope while the bird sat preening for the best part of a minute, thanks Josh. For a phyllosc in sueda it showed remarkably well.
Happy days
Click to expand...

Went this evening for the Greenish, was there from 4:45-6:45, no sign, what are the chances?
Any chance of some accurate location details? Everyone I met was either vague or clueless as to where the bird was!
I had a hunch it was in the sueda in front of you from the halfway house path, as the path opened out a little with the sueda in front of you as you looked to Blakeney church?
Cheers
 
stuart white said:
Greenish

This afternoon definitely compensated for yesterday, the hills were lovely and we scored a nice array of common migrants but left just before the wryneck turned up !

On the way out to half way house the stonking male Red-backed Shrike showed, although a tad distantly. Meeting up with the infamous 'zen' birder Josh he showed me to the warbler spot. Over the next half an hour we were treated to some very nice views, even through his telescope while the bird sat preening for the best part of a minute, thanks Josh. For a phyllosc in sueda it showed remarkably well.
Happy days
Click to expand...

A well-behaved group at the Greenish Warbler and this no doubt contributed to everyone getting views. The first Greenish I saw on Blakeney in the 90's was kicked from sueda bush to sueda bush and nobody got good views. Nobody was listening to me or my mate even though he was 6ft tall and a black belt in karate.

I managed a photo of today's bird but because of the distance it is not great. More on my Flickr site.

Watching Josh demonstrate the "Art of Zen and Telescope Maintenance" was a pleasant destraction at times. :eek!:
 

Attachments

  • Greenish Warbler 110824 IMG_1095.jpg
    Greenish Warbler 110824 IMG_1095.jpg
    237.4 KB · Views: 229

Similar threads

B
Birding in Portugal, Spain May june 2024
Replies
4
Views
445
brooke65
B
B
May - June birding in Europe. Guides?
Replies
1
Views
297
Fritz73
Fritz73
R
Red grouse near Buxton and anything else . Advise please
Replies
3
Views
314
simmojunior
S
T
30/03, Devon. Another (un)Common Buzzard?
Replies
10
Views
655
The Kerreran
T
SueO
Stories Behind Birds You've Photographed
Replies
18
Views
838
Joe H
Joe H

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 46 (members: 0, guests: 46)
Back
Top